components of weather

• weather: refers to the present condition of the atmosphere or the layer of air around us
• six main components of weather: air temperature, air pressure, wind speed, wind direction, humidity, precipitation
• air temperature: measure of the hotness or coldness of the air, most commonly measured weather component
• thermometer: used to measure air temperature, the unit for measuring air temp is degree fahrenheit or degree celsius
• the higher the reading of a thermometer the hotter it is
• air pressure: amount of force exerted by the air in the atmosphere on Earth's surface, also called the atmospheric pressure
• the air around us has weight
• Barometer: used to measure air pressure in millibar (mbar)
• Wind: moving air
• The sun heats our earth unevenly. Some places are heated up more than others, at those warmer places, the warm air rises reducing its air pressure, at those cooler places, the cool air sinks toward the ground increasing air pressure.
• Wind blows from cool areas to warm areas
• Wind Vane: tells the direction of the wind
• Humidity: amount of water vapor in the atmosphere
• humidity is low when there is little water vapor in the air, therefore the air is dry
• Psychrometer: used to measure relative humidity
• Relative Humidity: compares the amount of water vapor in the air with the maximum amount it can hold
• Precipitation: any moisture that falls from the air to the ground in the form of, rain, snow, hail, sleet
• Rain Gauge: used to measure the amount of rainfall in a place
• Rain: drops of water falling from the sky in an area with the temperature above 0°C, most common precipitation type
• Snow: forms mainly when air temperature is below freezing point, solid form of precipitation
• Hail: lumps of ice